It’s that time of year again! Record Store Day announcements are coming fast and furious in anticipation of the big day, Saturday, April 20. As usual, Rhino’s slate is a packed one, with a whopping 39 titles including releases from The Doors and Dwight Yoakam on CD as well as vinyl. Click here for a list of participating independent record stores. All descriptions below are provided by the label. (*) denotes worldwide units. AIR – Kelly Watch the Stars Limited Edition of 5,500* copies; 12″ picture disc Captain Beefheart & His Magic…
The Weekend Stream: February 10, 2023
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts. A light release week combines three unlikely bedfellows: a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted rapper, a classic pop crooner, and a hero of alternative rock. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (10th Anniversary Edition) (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Eminem’s eighth album from 2013 served as a sequel of sorts to his acclaimed third album from 2000 (which featured the rapper’s first Top 10 hit, “The Real Slim Shady,” and the unforgettable “Stan”). But if…
It’s Wonderful to Be in Love: Cherry Red Reissues Sandy Posey’s “Complete MGM Recordings”
“If you’re born a woman, you’re born to be hurt…” The stark sentiment expressed by singer Sandy Posey in her 1966 recording of Martha Sharp’s “Born a Woman” didn’t keep the song from reaching the twelfth spot on the Billboard Hot 100 – effectively launching a career that’s continued into the 21st century. Between 1966 and 1968, the Alabama-born songstress recorded four studio albums for MGM Records, all of which blended pop and country sounds in a Brill Building-meets-Memphis style crafted in conjunction with producer Chips Moman. Late last year, Cherry Red’s…
The Year In Review: The 2023 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part Two
Happy 2024! Welcome, friends, to Part Two of The Second Disc’s 14th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As we yet again look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2023’s cream of the catalogue music crop – those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. After much deliberation, we’re excited to unveil our favorites. This isn’t…
Dear Little Buttercup: Rhino’s “Start Your Ear Off Right” Features America, The Doors, Grateful Dead, “Three Amigos,” More
Rhino is once again inaugurating the new year with a Start Your Ear Off Right campaign, launching this Friday in brick-and-mortar independent record stores (and if the past is any indication, at Barnes and Noble locations across the United States). The vinyl-only slate, which is spread out over the next four release weeks, concentrates on classic rockers (The Doors, Foghat, America, Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath, Stevie Nicks, Yes) with a healthy dose of R&B legends (Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield, Zapp and Roger) and a late country music great (Eddie Rabbitt)…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 15
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As the next two Fridays will bring few, if any, new releases, this will be the final Release Round-Up of 2024, but we’ll continue to have news and reviews all next week. We’ll be back with another Release Round-Up in 2024! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Happy Holidays to all! Rosanne Cash, The Wheel: 30th Anniversary Edition (RumbleStrip Records) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Vinyl Me, Please Exclusive: Clear…
Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 Live at The Hollywood Bowl
Earlier this year, on April 29 and 30, a variety of artists came together in the Hollywood hills to celebrate Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday. Now, those star-studded evenings have been captured on a 2CD/1BD set with audio as well as a concert film. The 39 performances include appearances from Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Keith Richards, Tom Jones, Kris Kristofferson, George Straight, Dwight Yoakam, Rosanne Cash, Willie’s son Lukas, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, Norah Jones, Snoop Dogg, Booker T. Jones, Bob Weir, and others. Willie himself takes part on…
Only Country Music: Garth Brooks Boxes 2014-2020 Albums, Premieres “Time Traveler,” On New Box Set
Garth Brooks’ first edition of The Limited Series arrived in 1998. The collection of the superstar artist’s first six albums became the first-ever box set to debut at No. 1 on two charts, and set a record for the best first-week sales of any box set to that point in the SoundScan era. He followed it with the second Limited Series in 2005. The Walmart/Sam’s Club-exclusive set collected his next three albums plus the previously unreleased The Lost Sessions and a DVD of music and interviews. Now, Brooks has unveiled another retailer-exclusive…
THE SECOND DISC’S 2023 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Cyber Monday is upon us today, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it’s time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring (more than) a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we’ve filled the guide with around 50 essential selections: sprawling box sets and deluxe vinyl editions, as well as releases on CD from favorite artists that just might make great stocking stuffers. So just click here or visit the handy…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today in the final “big week” of the holiday release season. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. We’re kicking things off with our two Christmas releases from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! While Amazon’s orders are unfortunately delayed, both of these titles are shipping now from Real Gone’s webstore! Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops, The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Arthur Fiedler…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 3
Welcome to another packed Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Beatles, Now and Then (Apple/Capitol/UMe) Various Formats including CD single: The Beatles Online Store 7-inch clear single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7-inch blue single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 12-inch black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Target-exclusive red 12-inch single: Target.com “Now and Then.” No matter who’s listening, the title conjures the ghosts of the past that we all confront. The voice of John Lennon – not far-removed, but viscerally present –…
Blue Heartache: Cherry Red, Morello Collect Albums from Gail Davies, Neal McCoy
Cherry Red’s Morello imprint continues to re-present the best of American country music, and now the label has recently looked back to the 1980s and 1990s for a pair of releases. Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter Gail Davies was born into a musical family. Her father, Tex Dickerson, was a country singer. Her brother, Ron Davies, penned songs recorded by artists including Three Dog Night, David Bowie, Dave Edmunds, The Association, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Having grown up in Washington state, Gail relocated south to Los Angeles where she began her career as a session…
The Weekend Stream: October 28, 2023
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. A beloved Madonna ballad, a new Journey remix and a benefit compilation for Ukranian relief all get center stage today, plus a few unheard gems for country and electronic fans alike. Madonna, You’ll See (The Remixes) (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) This emotional 1995 ballad, a collaboration between the Queen of Pop and David Foster, was the lead single off a terrific…
The Weekend Stream: October 21, 2023
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. Adam Ant’s first single, Taylor Swift’s latest single and Tom Petty’s 2010 studio album are all in the mix, plus an unexpected Prince production and a most unusual tribute to The B-52’s. Adam & The Ants, Young Parisians/Lady (Decca) (iTunes / Amazon) Yesterday marked 45 years since the debut release by Adam and The Ants, soon to be one of the…
The Wheel: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Vinyl Me, Please Exclusive: Clear with Black Swirl): Vinyl Me, Please 2LP Marble Swirl and Other Exclusive/Signed Editions: Rosanne Cash Shop As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The deluxe anniversary edition of Rosanne Cash’s 1993 The Wheel has the remastered original album on the first CD, while the second disc contains Rosanne’s performance from Austin City Limits on July 26, 1993 as well as six rare tracks originally from the Columbia Records Radio Hour program. These include renditions of The Wheel‘s songs…
Roses in the Fire: Rosanne Cash’s “The Wheel” Turns 30, Gets Expanded and Remastered
The daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife Vivian Liberto, Rosanne Cash carved out a musical path all her own. She charted twenty-two country singles under her own name while at Columbia Records between 1979 and 1995, embracing contemporary textures while never forgetting her roots and her role in the distinguished lineage of country music. On December 15, one of her most acclaimed and personal albums, 1993’s The Wheel, will return in a remastered deluxe edition from RumbleStrip Records. Cash’s eighth studio album, The Wheel marked a new beginning for the…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 20
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles being released today as we inch closer to the holiday shopping season! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Nancy Sinatra, Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos, and Rarities (1965-1978) (Light in the Attic) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Standard Black 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Zodiac Blue 2LP: Nancy’s Bootique Highway Song Yellow 2LP: Nancy’s Bootique “Sugar Me” Pink Splatter 2LP: Spotify Abridged 4-Track Tape: Nancy’s Bootique Abridged 8-Track Tape: Nancy’s Bootique Following the release of the anthology Start Walkin’ 1965-1976 and expanded editions of Boots, Nancy and Lee,…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 6
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) (Asylum/Rhino) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The third volume of Joni Mitchell’s remarkable Archives series continues with an exploration of the period that yielded such groundbreaking albums as For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), the live Miles of Aisles (1974), and The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975). The new 5CD, 96-track box – also available digitally or in 4LP “highlights” form –…
Rhino’s Record Store Day Black Friday Lineup Includes The Doors on CD and LP Plus Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, War, and More
TSD is continuing its look at this year’s Record Store Day Black Friday releases, due at participating independent record stores on November 24, with the packed slate coming from Rhino. With sixteen titles – including one on both vinyl and CD! – Rhino has brought out the heavy hitters including The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, and War. Visit here for a list of Record Store Day retailers. The English Beat, I Just Can’t Stop (Expanded) Limited Edition of 8,000 copies on 2LP 140-gram Crystal Clear vinyl Captain Beefheart and…
Not Cool
Singer-songwriter-musician Tim Easton’s 2013 studio album Not Cool returns to CD and vinyl from Black Mesa Records. Recording in Music City, Easton welcomed veterans (bassist Joe Fick, guitarist JD Simo and drummer Jon Radford), and newcomers (violinist Megan Palmer and guitarist Sadler Vaden) alike to record the LP that ended up on American Songwriter‘s “best-of” list for the year. The album of which Easton remains proud (“Not Cool is the record, from start to finish, that I call my best album”) is ripe for rediscovery.
Special 20
Guitarist-singer-songwriter Tim Easton, a fixture on the Americana scene, revisits his 1998 debut album Special 20 in a new 25th anniversary edition. Produced by Brad Jones and Robin Eaton, the Nashville-recorded album introduced Easton’s rock-and-roll-meets-folk voice, with songs inspired by his college days as well as his time in Europe as a street troubadour. The long out-of-print Special 20 will be reissued on both vinyl and CD.
Release Round-Up: Week of September 29
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! The Spinners, Ain’t No Price on Happiness: The Thom Bell Studio Recordings (1972-1979) (SoulMusic/Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Earlier this year, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrated the extraordinary legacy of The Spinners with the release of The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979, collecting a whopping 43 single sides on two CDs. Now, SoulMusic Records and Cherry Red are continuing the Spinners party with a comprehensive box set chronicling that halcyon period with…























